It's all in the Hat
by Spyder Z
Summary: Mario, Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, sets off to Save the Princess... What would happen if... Nah, who are we kidding, Mario always wins... Right?
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was a normal day, like any other. The Toad of the mushroom kingdom going about their business, the Goombas, romping around in their stomping grounds, The Princess getting snatched up by Bowser while, as usual, wandering outside the limits of her kingdom, Paratroopas flying formation... Wait a minute. The Princess IS being kidnapped! Yes, it's another one of THOSE Normal Days. Now the message should be reaching Mario any second now... ahh there we go, and off he goes to rescue the Princess. Where's Luigi you might ask, well apparently you don't know all that much about the way things go around here. Mario heads off to fight Bowser while Luigi provides support at the home front. Yep, it's another one of those days, at least that's how it starts...


	2. Chapter 1 Routine so far

**Chapter 1 – Routine so far...**

Through first the Mushroom Kingdom, and then the Mid-Lands, Bowser's Valley and finally Bowser's Castle, Mario stays one step behind Bowser. Upon reaching the Keep, Bowser of course heads in to prepare while Mario is left to deal with the welcoming party.

Our Hero(As if you don't know him already.) is an ex-plumber gone Mushroom Kingdom savior. In his blue slacks, red shirt, and signature hat, this rotund, mustachioed man is capable of gravity defying jumps and has the power to use magical artifacts of the Mushroom Kingdom previously thought to have lost all their power. Destined by fate as a savior from all sorts of peril, our hero is more than up to the challenge. With the occasional help from his brother Luigi Mario, Mario Mario has outed Bowser(and the occasional other usurper) more times than can be counted on a Toads's spotted cap.  
Now Bowser on the other hand is one mean son of a lizard(though I dare you to call him that to his face.) More a giant spiked turtle than a lizard King Bowser Koopa rules the Koopa Troop with a scaly fist. He enjoys nothing more than causing chaos, and dreams of one day ruling all of the Mushroom Kingdom. To this end he constantly kidnaps Princess Peach, in the hopes of bringing down the Kingdom's Heroes, The Mario Brothers.

Arriving at the valley entrance to Bowser's keep, Mario prepares himself for some kind of nasty surprise. It wouldn't be the first(Nor the last he was sure) time Koopa had tried to get the jump on him as he entered the castle. Not this time though, just a few Goombas and a couple of Koopa Troopas wandered the lower caves. It was as if Bowser wasn't even trying to stop him. After clearing a some lava pits, and dodging the Podobos living within Mario was seriously beginning to wonder what was going on. Bowser has been off his game before but never this bad. Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and Podobos? His valley offered more of challenge than his cave entrance, and that's just an embarrassment. To guard the path to the castle and then stop right as you reach it. What was going on? Not wanting to spend too much time worrying, our hero continues through the lower caves and soon reaches the keep door.

Upon walking through the doors Mario is finally greeted with a little more of a challenge. Magi-Koopas and a few of the Mecha-Koopas that Bowser seems to like keeping close at hand, guard the keep entrance hall. Dodging the magic blasts of the Magi-Koopas, Mario stomps on the Mecha-Koopas(Disabling them only temporarily) and kicks them towards the unsuspecting Magi-Koopas. That taken care of he heads further into the castle. So maybe not much more of a challenge, but hey, he's Mario. He's been doing this long enough that most of the fighting's instinctual. Several hallways, corridors, and secret passages later Mario finally reaches the throne room. And this is where things begin to go wrong...


	3. Chapter 2 The Bigger They Are

Chapter 2 – The Bigger They Are...

Entering the throne room, Mario's first thought is that(and it comes as no surprise, Bowser does this every time.) not only has the King of the Koopas redecorated, but if possible, (and so far it's always been possible it seems) he's given into an even more self absorbed style of décor than before. Glancing about he realizes that the theme of today's trap is obviously lava. The heat in this room is neigh unbearable, or it would be were he just about anyone else. But since Bowser seems to have a thing for lava, Mario had gotten used to being around it long ago. Evenly spaced around the top of the chamber's walls were Carvings of Bowser's face, all of them, of course, spewing lava into pools cut in the floor, and in the center of the room in a pool of molten rock carved out of the floor stood a thrice sized statue of King Koopa also spewing lava. Now Bowser's no small Koopa, so this was a rather large statue. And sitting on the other side of the room, in a throne recessed into a large representation of Bowser's face carved into the wall, was no other than the Koopa Mario was waiting to see.

"BWahahaha!" Bowser cackled, "You're no match for my "Room of Fiery Doom", he finished as his throne pulled even further into the wall. The faces on the walls began to contort and move. Instead of facing forward, they began to look at Mario. Not being a fool, Mario began running. His first goal, the wall Bowser went through. After focusing in a new direction, the faces would stop briefly and then spit out a podobo, pipes began to sprout from the pools of lava around the walls, and unless he was loosing it, the central statue began moving as well. He circled the central pool while deftly dodging Podobos and keeping an eye out for anything the statue wanted to try, Mario finally reached the wall just as it finished closing up. Well that's great. Turning, he saw that no, he wasn't losing it. Not only was the statue moving but the pipes came equipped with their very own Piranha Plants, just itching to hauck their fire lugies his way. No wonder security was so light. Bowser wanted him to make it this far. It would take more than moving statues, and some piranha plants to daunt him though.

Looking around Mario noticed that this room was devoid of any power blocks, not surprised he prepared to take on the statue. Maybe if he could disable it... Charging the rock figure, his attack plan quickly changed as the thing belched a thick stream of molten flame. He was just able to dive out of the way before having to leap back towards the wall to avoid a well aimed podobo. This was getting him nowhere, and the statue began slowly advancing on his location. Now he was losing space. Stepping back to give him a better angle on the wall he barely missed being struck by a fireball, so they're playing too. With fireballs and podobos to dodge, Mario waited for the statue to get a little closer.

As soon as it was close enough, he jumped backwards onto the wall and propelled himself over the statue. Gripping the top of the moving monstrosity, Mario pushed off towards the ceiling. Kicking out as he reached the top of the room he broke off a layer of stone, it seems that King Koopa was still using cheap construction. The falling rock did no more than bounce off the thing's shell but several healthy sized stones had landed near where Mario came down from the roof just short of the central lava pit. Picking up a few of these he began aiming for the Piranha Plants while still watching out for the stray podobo. He was able to pick off the closest three before they began hiding in their pipes. Vicious and fire breathing they might be, but brave and tough they certainly weren't. Keeping his eyes open in case one of them peeked out, Mario now turned more of his attention to the statue again. It had just finished turning all the way around by that time. The thing wasn't fast, that was for sure. This was a good thing he decided.

Dropping his remaining stones Mario dashes between the statue's legs and runs for the wall. With the added speed, this time when he leaps to rebound off the wall he has enough momentum to carry him all the way up towards the ceiling. Turning in mid-air so that his feet connect with the ceiling, Mario pushes off with all the force his famous jump gives him and propels himself to the back of the statues head. With no room for mistake Mario pulls a tight somersault and brings the full brute of his triple jump to bear on the things head. Were he a normal man a jump like this would have been impossible at best, however, through a combination of perfect timing and an unknown source of personal power(The same which presumably allows him to use the artifacts of the Mushroom Kingdom.)he has the ability to leap with a force unmatched in all the Mushroom Kingdom, save for his own brother, Luigi.

Connecting with the back of the statue's head the force behind his jump brings the Goliath crashing forward into one of the lava pools lining the room. Landing not only in the lava, but also on the pipes that came from it, the statue as well as the pipes it lands on are more than adequately destroyed. Mario quickly jumps back to central walkway as the thing twitches a few times sinking further into the lava before finally coming to a stop. Which is just how an over sized statue should be. Still. Once it ceases movement, so too do the faces lining the room. Though they still pour lava, they no longer track Mario. The pipes also retract into the lava taking away all possible threats.

Waiting a moment Mario expects what comes next, as a large pipe emerges from the lava pool in the center of the room. Bowser knew he'd win. He always won. And now he was being summoned to face the Koopa King. Cocky as usual , Bowser intended on finishing what his trap couldn't. After having done this often enough one would think even a koopa would catch on, but not in his case. Bowser may have temporarily slowed him down with his little trap, and he was careless to have allowed it, but now it was closing time. Taking the pipe, Mario prepared to end this little excursion.


	4. Chapter 3 The Harder They Hit

Chapter 3 – The Harder They Hit.

Now traveling by pipe may seem a bit odd to someone who wasn't raised in the Mushroom Kingdom, but rest assured, not only is it a perfectly normal and acceptable way to travel, but it's also safe and extremely fast. If you were to ask, even they don't remember how this method of travel came to be. Much like various other things that they don't understand, all they know is that it works, and as far as they know always has and always will. You leap into one end of a pipe and come out another pipe elsewhere in the world. Now not just any ole pipe will do now, it's gotta be a Warp Pipe. What makes a pipe a Warp Pipe, now if they had an answer to that then they'd understand how Warp Pipes worked now wouldn't they. It's rumored that Bowser has the makings of Warp Pipes figured out, but even that's up for speculation. The Koopa King not being one to share that kind of knowledge.

Coming out of the pipe, Mario looks around at the room he's in. Nothing special here, just your standard throne room meets holding cell. He came out in what could only be an entryway, a small room cut from the main chamber with just enough room to exit the pipe. The main chamber wasn't too much in itself either. A large circular stone room with King Koopa's immense throne opposite the entryway. The only other decoration was a cage beside the throne holding Princess Peach.

Pretty in Pink and never one to dress down, Peach is woman in a league all to herself. Not only is she the Princess to (Oddly enough) a kingdom of Toad, but she's also got a sense of adventure even Mario would be hard pressed to rival. While a good attribute in a self driven ruler, it also has the unwelcome side effect of putting her right out in the open where any would be abductor has all but no trouble snatching her up. The biggest culprit being King Koopa.

"Well Mario," Bowser began , "Looks like you survived after all. Guess I'll just have to take care of you myself." he finished with a savage grin. Not at all daunted Mario prepares to face off once again with the King of the Koopas. This was a fight he has fought too many times to count, and it always ends the same way. As Mario leaves the small entry nook, Bowser roars in a would be menacing way. Mario leaping forward, Bowser charging claws out and ready to do some damage they begin to fight. Anyone who has watched, teacher's to students, brothers to brothers, or maybe champion competitors sparring for the umpteenth time would instantly recognize the fight of long time rivals in combat. Almost more of a dance than a fight the blows were dealt and dodged with a precision unmatchable in a normal fight.

Mario leaps to place a kick he knows will never connect as Bowser falls to the side and swipes at a target he has no chance of catching. Landing and immediately leaping backwards Mario avoids a blast of Bowser's fiery breath, just issued in the chance at catching a unprepared target. On and on they fight, Mario leaping about like a crazed grasshopper, and Bowser lunging, slashing ,and sending flames at a target he'll never hit. And then it happens.

What exactly? It could have been slight misstep on Mario's part, perhaps Bowser followed a swipe with an unexpected blow, or maybe the princess distracted her savior with one of her shrieks of warning. Whatever the cause, the outcome was as sudden a snake's strike and as slow as the falling snow. This may not make sense to everyone, but if you've ever been caught so off guard that you don't really know what just happened till it's over, then you can relate.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Bowser's closed fist catches a totally unprepared Mario in the gut. King Koopa being of considerable strength Mario is sent flying across the circular chamber to crash into the wall knocking all the air from his lungs. Had it been an open handed slash, instead of the backhanded blow it was, the fight would have ended once and for all in Bowser's favor. However, while not enough to finish him off the strike was sufficient enough to knock his cap from his head.

Now it's funny how your mind works right after a head ringing blow like that. While there were many things that should have aggravated Mario, being hit by Bowser, getting thrown across the room, the thing that bothered him the most was that not only had his hat been knocked from his head, but in a stroke of twisted luck it happened to land on the brow of King Koopa. Never had he lost his hat like this in a fight with Bowser. And that was enough to truly anger the mustachioed plumber. Getting up, Mario charged the Koopa King, maybe if he came at him from the other side...


	5. Chapter 4 Victory

Chapter 4 – Victory!

Halfway to Bowser, Mario has to leap aside dodging one of Koopa's blasts, but this time something's not quite right. That fire was much closer than it should have been. Bowser's aim must be getting better. Shrugging it off he prepares to leap over his adversary for a chance at getting behind him. Coming up for the jump something happens that hasn't happened in all the time he's spent in the Mushroom Kingdom. As Mario prepares to leap, he realizes, it's not there. What? There's no real answer to that, but whatever it is, it's just not there. The realization comes seconds too late because he actually tries the jump, even as his, body? mind? something else altogether? tells him that this time he's not going to make it. This time his jump isn't going to carry him.

Leaping not over but into Bowser, Mario's mind begins reeling. What's going on? What happened there? Bowser was also in a state of semi shock. Mario had just leapt into his arms. This was a new one, and for a brief moment neither of them could do more than stare at each other in surprise as Peach, also in shock was left unable to even shout. The shock lasted only a second and then Mario fell back and scrambled away from King Koopa. Bowser, realizing he had lost a golden opportunity, roars in anger and charges after Mario.

His mind racing, the Mustachioed hero slowly begins to see that things are very dire indeed. Not only is he suddenly unable to leap King Koopa, something he's done more times in his life than he can count, but now as he's running from Koopa(Which in itself is bad enough) he begins to notice other things. His body feels much heavier than ever before, and he's slowly starting to tire. This was insane! After a trip through all of Bowser's kingdom anyone would have been tired, but not Mario. He's made this journey on several occasions, and not once has he felt as tired as he was beginning to feel now. It must have been Koopa's punch, it must have taken more out of him than he initially realized. And now that the rush of anger(And surge of embarrassment) was gone, his body was beginning to feel the effects of the blow. That had to be it.

So what did he do now? Fall back and regather himself. He'd never been in a situation like this before. Mario was honestly considering making a run for it. And that fact alone was enough to shame him deeper than getting knocked across the room by Bowser. But the decision, it turned out was not one he would have to make. For as he contemplated his next move, Bowser, moving faster than Mario had ever seen, overtook him.

King Koopa caught up in his wild rush to catch Mario mowed right through Toadstool's would be rescuer. And as he reached Mario not only didn't he stop, but he plowed the plumber clear across the room into the wall before he realized what had happened. Looking down Koopa saw that Mario was laying at his feet. Wildly he leapt back and stumbled a few steps before he took in a breath to breathe flames towards Mario in the hopes of keeping him away. But when Mario didn't leap up Bowser choked on the flames he had been about to expel and stood looking dumbly down at his opponent. For much longer than it should have taken to assure his foe was not getting right back up King Koopa just stood there looking stupidly down at Mario.

Was it possible? Had he finally defeated Mario? Slowly Bowser approached the crumpled form of his long time rival. Still not entirely convinced something wasn't up, he continued to be on his guard. As he neared Mario's body a sense of euphoric disbelief started to fill him. Had he done it? After all these years could he truly have taken down the one enemy that he could never beat? Standing right beside Mario, Bowser turned him over with his foot. He wasn't dead, but he was definitely out.

"I've done it..." quietly at first but then louder, "I've done it! I've finally beaten him!" A maniacal laughter bellowed out and he was filled with the sudden urge to do something. Run, Jump, Take down the Mushroom Kingdom Single Handedly. He was invincible, he King Bowser Koopa was now unstoppable. He had taken down the one person capable of thwarting him and now nothing could stand in his way. So filled with the intoxicating euphoria of his victory Bowser leapt into a backwards somersault without thinking and came crashing down in the center of the room shaking in laughter and shaking the room with him. Princess Peach finally realizing that Mario really wasn't getting up began to wail uncontrollably. Looking over at her brought Koopa back to reality.

"Don't you worry my little Peach," Bowser said to her as he returned to Mario's body, "He's not dead,... yet." But now what? And that was a truly sobering thought. He had never been here before. Did he want to kill Mario? No, that was too easy. He wanted Mario to see everything he had spent his life fighting for, fall before Bowser's might. But what would he do with him until then?

Walking back to his throne(Keeping himself from skipping, he was filled with energy, if this was how it felt to win no wonder Mario was so unbeatable) Bowser pressed a stone behind his seat and and the wall opened up across the room admitting a small group of his elite Koopa Troop. Two Hammer Brothers and a MagiKoopa . They were there awaiting Bowser's possible(Inevitable as far as they were concerned) defeat at Mario's hand. The Koopas came in fully expecting to help their King back to his room to mope about his most recent loss. So it took a few moments for them to re orientate themselves when instead of Bowser laying beside his throne and Mario gone with the Princess, they found Bowser standing smugly beside Peach's still occupied cage and a limp form across the room. For a moment they did nothing but gape in open mouthed surprise at Mario's still form.

"Is, is he..." the MagiKoopa began.

"No," Bowser replied still smiling quite full of himself.

"You beat him!" one of the Hammer Bros said in obvious awe.

"Of course I beat him!" The Koopa King Bellowed, causing the three koopas to back up a step. "I am the King of all Koopa's am I not? No one alive is more powerful than I! And today is the day that I've proven that! With the fall of Mario, nothing shall stand in the way of the Koopa Troop's progression through the Mushroom Kingdom! Now comes the day that we show the Toad who the true rulers of this land are!" The three koopas began cheering. "What are you fools waiting for!" Koopa roared breaking their cheers. "Take Mario to the lower dungeons and place him in our strongest cell. I'll take no chance of his escape while we're gone. And send in the other guard on your way."

The Hammer Brothers rushed over to Mario's body and carefully lifted him from the chamber's floor. With the MagiKoopa watching for any sign of movement they carried him from the room, still coming to grips with the fact that it was Mario, that they were carrying through the halls defeated. On their way to the dungeons one of the Hammer Brother's remembered something. "Hey guys," he started, "was it just me or was King Koopa wearing Mario's hat?"

"What does it matter," the other replied.

"Yeah," the MagiKoopa began, "I noticed that too. He must have taken it as a trophy after beating Mario. Why?"

"Just asking," the first Brother replied, "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't seeing things."

After the Koopas left Bowser once again turned to the Princess. "Well, well, now Princess. Your hero has been defeated and there's no one to save you. Will you willingly turn over your kingdom now or do we have to do this the hard way? You know your subjects are no match for mine. If it wasn't for Mario's interference I would've taken over long ago. Do you accept the inevitable?" Peach said nothing, still haunted by Mario's still form. And even if she were able to speak she would never just give up. It must of shown in her eyes, because as soon as the second guard showed up Bowser ordered them to lock her in the North Tower. "And if she escapes then her guards had better leave with her," he threatened.

Alone at last after his victory Bowser sat in his throne as his thoughts began replaying the entire fight. He was so caught up in savoring the feeling of his triumph that it wasn't until much later that night, when he remembered somersaulting across his room after defeating Mario, that he began to question not only how he did that, but what had happened in that fight to turn things around in his favor. And it would be some time yet until he figured it out.


	6. Chapter 5 What Now

Chapter 5 – What Now?

Down in the lowest most inaccessible and uncomfortable dungeon sat Mario, Failure of the Mushroom Kingdom. Lying on his back in a corner he looked around the cell. The stone in the top corner of the cell looked a little loose. Maybe if he could jump up there...

Getting up(Not for the First Time) and moving to the corner opposite the loose stones, Mario realized that his head was pounding. Shaking his head(Which didn't help) He prepared(Again) to run to the corner and leap up to knock the stones free. Running across the small cell(Maybe this time...) Mario jumped just before he reached the corner(It's not so high) and for the umpteenth time since his first awakening he crashed into the corner(Should know better...) rebounded backwards and knocked himself out on the cold stone floor.

Waking much later, and many, many attempted jumps afterwards, Mario, lying on the cell floor with his head neigh ready to split, finally begins to realize that it's gone, and it's not coming back. How could he have lost it? What was it he lost? How is he going to get it back? For the first time in all his life, Mario begins to feel hopelessness drift in from an open window, a window opened by that loss at Bowser's hands. How, after all these years, had King Koopa finally gotten the best of him? What had gone so terribly wrong as to have allowed this? He'd been hit by Bowser before. He'd even been knocked into a wall or two while fighting, but never, Never, had he been worn out and so over matched while battling with his nemesis. It just didn't make sense!

Slowly sitting up, Mario gently puts his ringing head into his hands and runs his fingers through his hair. Feeling the lack of his hat he quickly looks around to see where it could have fallen. With his head as sensitive as it was, the movement was too much, too soon, and Mario had to stop and hold his head firmly between his hands to keep his skull from exploding. After some time passes in this position, he feels brave enough to try again, but slowly this time, carefully. Looking around the cell, his hands holding his head together, Mario notices that aside from the bed held to the wall by chains, a refuse pit in the corner, and a small basket holding what looked like month old food, there was nothing else in the cell. Wincing from the pain of that simple activity, he closed his eyes and took a few shaky breaths to steady the resounding pounding inside his head. So he lost it. A vague memory of Bowser wearing his hat while laughing at him surfaced, and he passed it off as a part of the nightmares that were undoubtedly plaguing his subconscious. He was in enough trouble as it was without giving in to the fancies of his unconscious mind, and there were more pressing things to worry about right now anyway, like what he was going to do now...

* * *

Sitting in the largest and most lavishly furnished room in the Keep sat Bowser, Champion over Mario, and thus the entire Mushroom Kingdom. Sitting at his "War Desk" Bowser was planning(Not for the first time) the perfect approach in taking over his rival's kingdom. Every time he came up with a rough plan, he started to add in all kinds of "Mario Contingencies"(Which wasn't necessary) and ended up scrapping the whole idea(Again). Why was this proving so difficult? Without Mario to interfere he should be able to take the Mushroom Kingdom with ease. Starting fresh he developed a basic plan, Warships(Check), Troops(Of Course), and a little backup from his kids(A Diversion..). That way, when Mario Shows up... "ARG!" King Koopa Roared his fury.

Some time later, having given up on his plans for the moment, Bowser was leaning back in his seat thinking of his Kids, his Koopa Clan. They had gone out into the world to prove themselves and he now awaited news of their accomplishments. Always before, he had set them up with one of his lesser castles around the lands he was conquering, but not this time. They had grown some and felt that it was time to show their Dad what they were made of. He chuckled to himself. He could remember leaving his Da's house in search of a way to "prove himself". That darkened his mood some. He still hadn't conquered the Mushroom Kingdom. At least not for any length of time. Thanks to that blasted Plumber! The plumber who was currently enjoying residence in his dungeons. He smiled as he remembered trouncing Mario again, and then he...

Startled out of his Reverie Bowser sat up in his seat knocking several things from his desk. Then he what! Somersaulted across the room... No... There was no way he... But he did... didn't he? Getting up Koopa started pacing across his room. Okay now, he had to think about this rationally. He wasn't in horrible shape, he knew he could possibly use a little more exercise but... there was no way he could have jumped across the room like that. He tried to recall exactly what happened. Maybe he was so caught up in the moment that he just... felt like somersaulting... Leaving the room Bowser quickly walked to the chamber in which he fought Mario. Walking over to the center of the room he looked at the cracked stone in the center of the room. Staring for a few minutes Bowser was unable to cope with what that meant. These stones were old... and maybe he... Shaking his head Koopa decided that a practical test was required to prove that he was somehow mis-remembering the situation. That's all. Looking around to make sure that none of his guard were watching him as he prepared to make a fool of himself, King Koopa walked to one end of the room.

Taking a deep breath, (By the Lands, but he felt foolish) Bowser started to run across the room(He was in better shape than he thought) as fast as he could before leaping(What in the!..) Through the air and into the wall about half way up the room, knocking loose several large pieces of the wall and bringing them down on top of him. He hardly noticed in his shock.

"hehe," He started.."Hehehe...UrrAhahaHAHAHA!" He was laughing in what? Amusement? Shock? He didn't know, and frankly he didn't care. He was laughing as hard as his body allowed and much harder than he had ever laughed before. He laughed so loudly and for so long, that his guard peeked in to see if he was alright. King Koopa, sitting in a pile of rubble from the wall, oblivious to anything else, just sat and laughed. What was this? This was crazy! HE, King Bowser Koopa had just leapt across the room like a... like... Mario.

Suddenly all his mirth left him. Looking down he noticed the Koopa's looking at him. "What? What is it!" He yelled at them. Looking confused and terrified the leader of the guard stammered an incomprehensible answer, and they all quickly made their exit(Sure that their King had finally lost it.) Getting up Bowser started to seriously question what was going on. Not only had he beaten Mario, but now that he had, he could jump across the room, just like that crazy plumber. Had he gained that from beating Mario? And if so did Mario still have the same skills? What the Rotted Toad's Cap was happening here?

All the Koopa's carried the potential for a Magic that the Toad seemed not to have... but this was like nothing he had ever heard of. He wasn't to shabby a wizard himself at times, then again, there was no incantation for an effect like this.. at least not that he knew about... Kammy might. She was much farther involved in the Dark Magics than Bowser had ever been. He remembered all too well the lessons as a young Koopa that he had to endure from her. And she was willing to help him sometimes, when he needed her "particular" skills... Yes, He'd talk to that witch of a Koopa, she'd know what to make of this. And after he understood it well then... He wasn't sure, but he'd get to that. The Mushroom Kingdom wasn't going anywhere for the time being.


	7. Chapter 6 Escape

Chapter 6 – Escape!

Sitting in the corner of his cell, his head resting against the walls, Mario was unsure as to how long he had spent in the dungeon. Much longer than he'd ever been locked up before and depending on how often they brought him food in a day,(Which wasn't nearly enough.) he could have been there anywhere from ten to twenty days. It felt much more like the latter and even longer at times. His gloves were torn from his attempts at punching through the walls and covered little more than his palms and the back of his hands. His shirt and overalls were starting to look a bit ragged from his attempts at throwing himself at the walls and door, and his shoes wouldn't last too many more attempts on the aforementioned door. His normally unkempt hair was in an even worse sort than was usual, what with his hat missing and all, and he was beginning to get that scruffy unshaven look. With his captivity and the obvious lack of any escape, Mario truly felt defeated. He had never come to a point where there was no way out and he began to think that maybe this time he'd have to...

#CLINK#

Looking up Mario glanced around the small room wondering if he'd actually heard something. The answering silence was enough to convince him that it was no more than his imagination acting up on him. He desperately wanted some way out of this little cell and it looked like he wasn't going to get it. Standing up, Mario began to consider another round with the wall. Maybe he was weakening it, maybe if he just worked on it for long enough he'd find a weak point and break through. Looking down at his hands he grimaced at the sight of his gloves. They'd been through so much more in the past, he was sure of it. But maybe, this was a sign, maybe they like him had finally decided that it was about time to...

#CLINK, HISS#

What in the world was... #BA-BOOM# The whole world exploded. Mario was thrown to the other side of the tiny cell by the blast and nearly knocked unconscious by the force of the wall coming in at him. There was dust everywhere and Mario could barely focus, not that he could have seen much of anything in that mess. He was definitely bruised up and his head was ringing from the noise and the impact.

"Mario!" an extremely familiar voice shouted out to him. "It's a me, Luigi!"

Luigi Mario, Mario's brother and Co-Savior of all that is Toad. Sporting darker blue slacks and a green shirt and hat combo(Green goes better with blue eyes) Luigi has been there for Mario from the very beginning. Slightly taller and notably thinner, he has all the same prowess as Mario, physically. Not one for violence, Luigi tends to take a more supportive role in Mario's constant crusades against Bowser. While no pushover, Luigi isn't quite as driven as Mario, and is more likely to be found thinking his way through a situation than rushing in and hoping for the best, like his headstrong brother.

"Mario? Is there a anyone here?"

Mario tried to reply but was unable to do anymore than moan a mostly incoherent response. As the dust settled Mario could finally see the blurry and doubled form of his brother, standing in a hole that was a new addition to the little cell.

"Mario?" Luigi began, "Oh, I'm a sorry, you look much like my brother. If you follow this path back, it will take a you outa the castle. I'd take you myself but I must find my brother. Good luck!" he finished as he backed himself out through the hole.

Mario was completely lost as to what just happened. Did he really just see his brother? Maybe he was just waking up from knocking himself out again. Yes, that made much more sense... Surely Luigi would have recognized him if he had really just shown up. He was just having another of those nightmares that had been plaguing him as of late. He was merely dreaming that his brother had blasted a hole in the wall to save him, and when he woke up, he'd be laying on the floor with his head pounding... like it was right now...

Pulling himself into a sitting position, Mario tried to stand, holding his head together, and almost stumbled over the rubble that was lying everywhere. So that part of it really happened, but who had done it? Standing up, he tried a few tentative steps, before carefully walking through the stones and over to the hole in the wall. Peering out of the hole, Mario was almost giddy at the sight of the tunnel between the cells and the stone. Glancing first one way, and then the other, Mario noticed a form leaping onto a ledge that really wasn't that high... or at least wouldn't have been, before...

Now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. What's happened has happened and dwelling on it wasn't going to get him out of here any quicker. Whoever that was, had just gone out of his reach for now. He'd worry about them later. Right now he was going to take the apparition's advice, and head out of the castle. Taking the passage in the opposite direction from the figure, Mario began to head(he hoped) towards the outside of the castle.

* * *

Standing outside the cell that Mario had been in, "The" Hammer Brothers looked down at the smaller "hammer brothers" who's job it had been to watch the cell. 

"So, tell us again how it is that Mario blew open the back of his cell and escaped without either of you hearing a thing?" Sledge, the bigger of the two already large brothers asked the trembling brothers.

"It's... it's like... like I said..." the first brother started, "we, we were going to fetch his lunch."

"Yeah!" the other brother kicked in, "the goomba who normally comes was late, and he was sleeping, and he had been so quiet for so long, and..." he rambled.

"Oh would you just SHUT UP!" Jack, the other Hammer Brother shouted, bringing his large mallet down between the two smaller brother's causing them to leap apart and cower.

Jack and Sledge, "The" Hammer Brothers. Leaders of Koopa's elite fighting force, and the top of the chain of command in his ground troops. Their legendary skills with their hammers is a widely known fact around training halls all across the Mushroom Kingdom, and not just the recruitment halls of Bowser's Keep. Both larger and stronger than just about any other koopa out there, they wield massive hammers along with the normal array of smaller ones carried by the average hammer brother. Sporting matching metal caps, these turtle twins are truly a threat to the Mario's... well, a significantly larger threat than the average koopa anyway...

"Much better," Sledge stated. "Now, we've heard your story a few times now, and it's not very helpful. What we "really" want to know is, how long ago did this happen, and what have you done about it?"

Gulping the hammer brothers glanced first at each other and then back at their superiors and the first one began, "Well you see, it wa...wasn't that long ago, and we figured we oughta let you know before we..." he trailed off as he noticed Jack coming closer his hammer slowly raising in his hands.

"Listen! It really wasn't that long ago!" the other brother shouted. "And we came straight to you as soon as we noticed. So he's probably still in the castle!" he finished in a rush.

Looking back at his brother Jack got a small nod from Sledge and then, moving faster than the smaller koopa could react, he swung his large hammer and knocked the stammering koopa into the other, which was followed by Sledge swinging his weapon and sending the two guards crashing into the wall, knocking them unconscious. Walking over to ensure that the two screw ups were out, Jack then beckoned to a nearby goomba.

"Take these two to an empty cell. If they can't do their jobs on this side of the door, we'll let them sit on the other side for a while." The goomba nodded and called to a few of his companions to help him move the hammer brothers. While they were doing that, Sledge addressed the other assembled guard. "Listen, and listen well. King Koopa has finally bested our enemies' champion, Mario. If he discovers that due to the lax security in his troops, Mario was able to escape, well..." he trailed off shaking his head in a mock resignation, "then there's not much I can do to stop him in his rage. I want each and every one of you to gather all the troops you can and scour every inch of this castle, starting with this floor until you find him. If he escapes, then more than your positions will be on the line." he ended, thumping the shaft of his mallet across his palm to emphasize his point. "Now Go!" he shouted sending them all scrambling to arrange the search.

"This isn't good," Jack stated as soon as the troops had all left earshot. "This isn't good at all. You know that we'll be held responsible if King Koopa discovers Mario missing." he pointed out turning to his brother.

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure he doesn't until they find him. As long as those morons were telling the truth, then he really can't have gotten too far. Besides, Bowser left to talk with Kammy, so we're okay for right now." he returned, shaking his head, "And if all else fails, we could use a vacation, who knows, we may run across Mario while we're out, and wouldn't that be a good way to keep our shells." he chuckled.

Smirking at the thought, Jack nodded before becoming serious all of a sudden. "You know, we really should alert Kamek, he's going to find out soon enough, and I'd rather not have him coming after us any more than King Bowser. Besides, with the help of the MagiKoopa's, finding Mario should take no time at all." he stated in an almost positive tone.

"Your right," Sledge agreed, "But let's be careful with what we tell him. If he thinks we were responsible..." he let it trail off ominously. They both nodded their agreement before heading back up into the castle.


	8. Chapter 7 Goomba

Chapter 7 – Goomba!

Waddling along the corridor behind the cells, Goombite, a newly appointed member of King Koopa's castle guard, was lost amidst his daydreams. _Yeah, I'll be the one to catch him! All I gotta do is find him and then Fwap! Pow! Bite! And he's down! Hehehe..._ He thought, envisioning the scene. _Nah, who am I kidding. Goombash already told me about how he watched Mario take down a whole squad of Goomba without even pausing... And that's why I'm back here anyway. Everyone knows that Mario's not one to skulk around in the shadows, so there's really no chance of running into him back here, but at least I look like I'm trying. Still... it would be really cool if I could take Mario..._ he thought again, losing himself once more in his daydreams.

Now the Goomba are a very interesting race. Squat mushroom shaped creatures with two stub like legs, and no arms or other appendages, they generally rely on their mouths, their feet, or the over-flexibility of their bodies to allow them to interact with the environment. Once at peace with their distant cousins, the Toad, they decided long ago to forgo the boring lives of the peace loving Toad, and instead joined Bowser's army, where their naturally aggressive natures were appreciated and they were given the freedom to express their more base instincts. While vicious, fighters in one on one ground combat, they've received the erroneous reputation for being pushovers due to the ease with which the Mario brothers dispatch them, using an aerial advantage that they cannot match.

Lost in his own world, Goombite didn't hear the sound of footsteps coming from around the corner, no more than the source of the footsteps seemed to hear him. Both parties, lost in their own thoughts were quickly alerted to each others presence soon enough when, while coming around the bend, they both stumbled into each other. Reacting to months of training, Goombite quickly jumped up and back, thrusting with the top of his cap, and knocking the larger figure that had almost fallen completely over him back a few steps before getting his first look at him. For a few moments he was sure his heart had just stopped and that he was having a post life hallucination. There, not more than a few feet from him was Mario, "The" Mario, scourge of the Goomba Clan, and champion to those horrid Toad. Completely paralyzed in fear, he could do no more than stare as Mario, rushed at him and inevitably knocked him senseless.

Bracing for the crushing blow he was to receive, Goombite was startled when instead of crashing down on his cap and compressing him to the point that he lost consciousness, he was instead tackled from the front and rolled by his attacker. Tumbling back as he had been instructed to do in this situation, he pulled himself into a curl and kicked off of his opponent sending his assailant into the nearby wall. Righting himself and turning to face the obviously unknown attacker, Goombite thought to himself... _That isn't Mario! Mario is at least several feet taller and capable of jumps that are the bane of Goombas everywhere. Heh, I was obviously mistaken, and since this ugly impostor gave me such a fright, I'll teach him a lesson that he won't soon forget. No one messes with a Goomba, and gets away with it... Unless they're Mario of course... hehehe..._ Laughing at his initial confusion, and fueled by the knowledge that he wasn't facing Mario, and thus could realistically win this fight, Goombite threw himself at his attacker, scarcely giving him time to pull himself back up. _Goomba..._

* * *

Leaving the immediate surroundings of his cell was enough to boost Mario's flagging confidence. He may have been captured by Bowser, but he was still Mario, and that meant that there was nothing in this castle that could stop him, short of King Koopa himself, and he'd take care of that problem as soon as he escaped and regathered his strength. Wincing, Mario cringed at the thought of leaving Bowser's castle without Princess Peach. He had never, in all his career as the Mushroom Kingdom's savior, never left without the Princess... but things were not going as they should and more than anything else Mario needed a chance to regroup so that the next time he faced Bowser, everything would turn out the way it was supposed to. That still didn't help the taste of failure that he couldn't get out of his mouth.

After having walked for a bit, Mario began to think about other things, like how Bowser had ended up getting the best of him. It just didn't make sense. They were fighting like always, Bowser helplessly trying to beat Mario, and he waiting for a good chance at stomping the brute. Granted he may have been toying with King Koopa just a little bit, but that was half the fun. The massive Koopa was never(Up until this point) going to beat him, so why not put on a bit of a show. It kept things from getting too stale, and if things started to look ugly he'd just end it and get out of there... at least that was how it was supposed to work. But somehow, this time, things went sour. One minute fighting, and the next, Bowser comes at Mario like a tweester and bowls him over. Scratching his head(Which had finally stopped ringing) Mario once again noticed the lack of his cap and chuckled in a mirthless way. That was right, not only had Bowser beaten him, but he'd lost his cap as well. It would only figure. He'd had that particular hat since the first time he fought King Koopa, so of course the first time Koopa beats him he'd lose his cap... It was almost like...

But he'd have no chance to figure what it was almost like as at that moment he tripped over a goomba and was suddenly knocked back a few steps, snapping him back into the now. Looking over at the goomba Mario's inert cockiness reasserted itself. It was just a little goomba, he'd fought these things time and time again, and yet they still seemed to think that they stood some kind of a chance. It was almost humorous. At least this one could tell that it was in trouble, Mario could see the fear in it's eyes, and he wasn't about to let it waste that rightly come fear. Charging the goomba, Mario prepared to stomp... at the last second it came back to him... he was so used to fighting with his jumps that he forgot for a moment... but no matter it was just a goomba, and so Mario took his forward momentum(that it was too late to stop) and tackled the thing.

Now Mario expected one of two things. One, the goomba, as weak as everyone knew they were, would be knocked unconscious by Mario's tackle. Or two, if he wasn't knocked out, then scared by the change in tactics the goomba would flee, leaving Mario one less fight to deal with. He was after all still Mario, and it wasn't that infrequent that Bowser's underlings would choose flight over fight in a confrontation with him. What he didn't expect however was to be rolled by the thing and thrown into the wall at the intersection. With his head still not completely right, that was enough to set it ringing once more. He had to clear his vision before he could see what was going on, and he didn't like what he saw. The goomba, obviously not afraid anymore(what if they already knew), was charging him. Rolling out of the way, Mario barely missed being tackled by the goomba's rush, and it wasn't stopping there.

Of course he'd be fighting in a smallish corridor that gave him little room to avoid the things attacks and even less to maneuver, but he'd have to make due. Turning to face his attacker, Mario had to throw his hands up to fend the goomba away(By the lands but this one was fast) and was rewarded with it's teeth sinking into his arm. Stifling a shout of pain(He really didn't need any more to show up) Mario kicked the Goomba at it's base, causing it to free his arm, and quickly stumbled back a few steps to put some room between them. Obviously it had other plans though, because as soon as Mario began to stumble back the Goomba charged again. This wasn't going to work, Mario knew that when you fought on the defensive your opponent had control, and he wasn't about to give control of this fight to a Goomba. Falling on his back, Mario kicked out at the creature, and once again felt it's teeth sinking into his body, this time his leg. Barely holding back another shout of pain, Mario curled up and punched the thing right between it's eyes. That seemed to stun it a little, and it stumbled back a few steps itself. Not giving the Goomba a chance to recover, Mario scrambled up(His leg!) and stumbled towards the little monster.

As he reached the Goomba it seemed to have cleared it's head and it flattened itself on Mario's approach. Not sure what to expect, our weary warrior prepared to pounce, but it wasn't to work. As soon as Mario was almost close enough to try something, the Goomba leapt at him with incredible speed and knocked the breath out of him. Not letting up for a moment, it ducked down close to him and leapt once more, thrusting with it's cap, and at this range it's blow sent Mario flying back into the wall once more. His head pounding now, and both his left arm, and his right leg throbbing in pain, Mario couldn't believe he was having so much trouble, against a Goomba!

With the Goomba advancing on him, all kinds of horrible things dancing in it's eyes, Mario didn't have too much time to think. Okay, so what did he know about goombas, one, they were weak(That didn't help), two, they were easily knocked unconscious by compressing them(As things were now, that was even less helpful), and three... well there was no three. Generally when dealing with Goomba there wasn't much to think about. It was jump, squish, continue, and that was it. How did the Toad deal with Goomba... He'd have to ask them later, if he made it out of this hallway that was, and that's what really started to worry Mario like nothing so far had affected him. Here he was, being thrown about by a Goomba. How in the lands did he expect to fight Bowser in this condition? Something was very, very wrong, and it went deeper than King Koopa's beating him. Now was not the time to worry about what was wrong though, now was the time to fight, and win... he hoped.


	9. Chapter 8 Filibert

Chapter 8 – Filibert!

Struggling back to his feet, Mario had to dive out of the way to avoid being tackled by the Goomba, there being very little room for diving about, he ended up smashing his arm into the wall, sufficiently disabling himself in the process. Biting back the howl of pain that threatened to erupt from this fresh battering of his newly hurt arm and barely keeping the precarious hold he had on staying vertical, Mario was prepared to turn and throw himself bodily at his foe in the hopes of maybe wrestling a win out of the situation when he heard the sound a Goomba makes when it's been stomped into submission. Whipping his head around(Which thanks to the Goomba was ringing once more) and reeling at the effect it had on him, Mario was just barely able to make out a figure dressed in blue overalls and a green shirt through his blurry vision. Trying to bring the image into focus, and careful not to move anything anymore than he had to, Mario's eyes cleared on a site that more than made his day. There not more than an arms reach away, and standing beside the unconscious form of the Goomba, was none other than his brother Luigi Mario!

"Weegie!" he shouted in pure, undiluted joy, as he stumbled forward into his brother's arms. He had never been happier to see his brother than he was now. Moments ago he was seriously convinced that he was about to lose to a Goomba for the first time in all his life, and now he was here with the only other person he knew that could possibly help him out of here. The only thing that ruined the moment was the extremely puzzled look on his brother's face. What was the matter? Did he not recognize him? There was no way he could look so different... was there?

"Ahem..." Luigi began, pushing Mario into a standing position, "Ahhh forgive me for asking, but... who is it that you a say a you are?" he asked with real puzzlement in both the tone of his voice and the look on his face.

"Weegie!" Mario cried out his heart aching with the fact that his own brother didn't seem to recognize him. He couldn't have possibly been gone that long... could he? This didn't make any sense. Why wouldn't Luigi know him on sight? He hadn't forgotten his own brother... had he? "It's... it'sa me... Mario..." he said, his heart not in it. Those words felt so far from the truth at the moment that even he wasn't even sure any more. Not only couldn't he hold his own against a goomba, A GOOMBA! For the Star's sake, but now his own... his Own Brother! was having trouble identifying him. Maybe there was something wrong with him, on a level that he had yet to consider... What if really wasn't... No that was ridiculous! He had all his memories, he could still remember what it felt like to leap across a room, and land exactly where he knew he would, and he could still remember what it felt like to stomp a goomba. There was obviously something else going on here and he needed to figure it out, and quick. But first, he needed his brother on his side. He wasn't sure he could go on alone... not only because he'd need help(The thought hurt too much to continue), but also because he needed Someone! Who would support him. If even Luigi didn't recognize him, then he knew that he'd have much more trouble ahead him.

"Mario?" Luigi asked incredulously. "Mario? I'm a sorry, but my brother is a much larger than you are. You look a lot like him, but..." he trailed off staring at Mario as if trying to figure him out. "But... you ahhh... you just a look a lot smaller." he finished lamely with a shrug.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted in his best "Big Brother" voice. "Don't a be ridiculous. Who a else would a know about the dairy you keep a under your bed?" he started, and not letting up, even at the shocked expression on his brother's face, he continued, "And who a else could know about a the song our Mama sung to us every night before she a tucked us into bed? Our a bunk beds in the room, with the Pizza lamp." he finished.

His face full of disbelief, Luigi nonetheless was beginning to stare at Mario anew. Almost as if he was trying to believe him, and just couldn't bring himself to. He looked like a man in a struggle with his own thoughts. Mario let him to think for a moment as he looked down at his arm. The wounds weren't too awful deep, and the bleeding had begun to slow now that he wasn't banging his arm about. He lightly put a little more pressure on his bit leg, and winced at the result. It was going to be slow going no matter what, unless... Looking up at Luigi, Mario could see that he was going to ask him something else. That was okay, at least he wasn't just disbelieving him outright.

"If a you are, who you a say you are, then you should a be able to a tell me what my middle name is." he asked in a serious voice.

Mario chuckled in mirth at his question. Luigi had always been bothered by the fact that their parents hadn't given them middle names, and he would always bother Mario about it. With their parents no longer around, Mario had decided long ago that it was just the way it was, and no bother worrying about it. That wasn't good enough for Luigi though. So one day Mario had jokingly told Luigi that his middle name was Filibert, just to get him to quiet down about the issue. Luigi was appalled at the thought of having such a goofy middle name that, that became Mario's favorite nick-name for him when no one else was around. Chuckling at Luigi's choice of a question, Mario answered him anyway, "Filibert."

"Mario!" Luigi yelled in joy throwing his arms around his brother, crushing his arm and bringing him a whole new wave of pain. "It's a really you! What a happened to you Brother?" he asked still squeezing Mario, who while happy to have his brother on his side now, still needed to do a little bit of recovering before he engaged in any hugging of his own. "How did a Koopa catch you, where have you been for so long, why didn't you a break out like a you've done so many times before, and what'sa matter with your face?" Luigi asked in a solid rush, as Mario strained to keep himself from howling out in pain. Looking down at his brother, as if really seeing him for the first time, Luigi exclaimed, "Mario! You're all torn up!" before releasing him from the tight embrace, and carefully, almost awkwardly holding his hand out to steady his older brother.

Taking in a deep breath, Mario slowly collected himself. So now, he had his brother here, and that made his chances of escaping(He couldn't even think that without hating himself, but there was no other way...) much better. There was nothing for it, Mario was going to have to rely on Luigi to get him out of here, and he was going to have to explain to him that he was incapable of defending himself... He, who was always his little brother's rock... Gahhh! Holding his head in his hands Mario couldn't fathom how things had gone so horribly wrong! What could possibly have happened to weaken him so much! Why couldn't he jump, run, or fight like he should, what in the rotting koopa-keep was going on! Brushing his hands through his hair, Mario was beyond noticing the lack of his cap.

* * *

"Well, well, well... isn't this a surprise..." Kammy cackled looking up from her broth as Boswer entered without so much as a knock, "What's wrong now?" She'd raised him with more manners than that, but he was "King" Koopa, and the title destroyed any chance she had at keeping him in line. The only time she saw him now was when...

"I need to ask you something." Bowser said, while looking around the little hut. He had never really liked this shack as a young Koopa, and he didn't care for it any more now that he was older.

Kammy Koopa, Head Witch and arguably(By Kamek Alone) the most powerful Magi-Koopa alive. Bowser's original teacher, and mentor in the Dark Arts practiced by the Koopa's. She is only superseded by Kamek, due to the fact that having her around, was "Too much like having his Grandmother around" in King Koopa's mind, thus allowing Kamek to gain the "title" of head Magi-Koopa in the Keep. Having spent a significant amount of time with him throughout his education whilst he was young, her relationship is more maternal, when no one else is around.

"Well, ask, or sit, or do something other than stand in my doorway you overgrown lizard! You're letting the heat out!" she stated while pouring out two bowls of soup. Stepping into the hut, Bowser pulled the door shut behind him without a thought. He had come here to learn something, and he knew better than to rile Kammy up before seeking her help. It was bad enough trying to get her to do things for him when she was in a good mood. Stepping over to the table, he took a bowl from her before continuing.

"I beat Mario!" he blurted out instead, and then waited for a response. Looking at him, Kammy couldn't tell if he was trying to be funny, or if it was something else. "King" Koopa had a strange sense of humor at times, but this didn't seem to be one of them. He looked to be almost bursting at the seams with self satisfaction, and there was something else, something different about him that she couldn't quite place... could it be, could he have possibly beaten...

"That's nice dear. What was it you wanted from me, it sounds like you've finally taken care of your biggest problem." she said with a shrug, as she began to eat her soup. Bowser's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He was flabbergasted, he'd just revealed that he'd beaten Mario, Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom, and all she could respond with was,

"That's Nice! That's Nice!" he roared crushing his bowl in his hands, "I King Bowser Koopa have bested my lifetime rival of many years, and all you can say is That's Nice!" he finished in disbelief, a little hurt, and infuriated by her lack of interest.

"Now now, calm down, it had to happen eventually dear," she began, as she waved her hand causing the broken bowl to reassemble itself on the counter in front of her, "You are "King Koopa" after all." she continued, filling the bowl once more before handing it back to Bowser, "It's not like it's so surprising that you've finished off that lousy plumber, he was only human after all." she finished, looking up at him actually more proud than she let on. His reaction was enough for her, he had actually done it, Mario was... "So I assume you've finished him off." she asked in an offhand manner.

"Well... I..." Bowser began, losing his anger as quickly as it had come before trying to explain...

"You fool!" she retorted, throwing her soup bowl at "King" Koopa sending a ball of force to travel with it, and then the most absurd thing happened. Instead of throwing his arms up, and absorbing her attack while deflecting the bowl, like she had taught him to do in such a situation, or, trying to move out of the way, and likely destroying some of her furniture, which had happened in the past, "King Bowser Koopa" leapt, like a... like Mario, only with his mass, and size, he leapt straight through her roof. Kammy just stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. This, this was different...


	10. Chapter 9 Finally Free

Chapter 9 – Finally Free!

Having explained his situation to Luigi (Who took it much better than Mario could have hoped) the brothers set off to escape the castle. They met very little resistance on their way out; a few goombas, two koopa troopas, and one hammer brother (Who they caught by surprise). Luigi was quick to dispatch of them and they continued on without having to stop for any considerable amount of time, which suited Mario just fine. Now it was obvious that they were looking for him and if it weren't for these back passages (Which Mario had never taken before) they'd have likely had more trouble escaping. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that for the first time ever, he was actually leaving Koopa's Keep without the princess, but there was nothing else for it. Luigi wasn't that strong of a fighter (He wasn't weak by any means, but he'd never developed Mario's confidence) and he agreed that if Koopa had beaten Mario then he'd likely fair no better. So, they went for backup.

_It's a my turn to take care of Mario, and I won't a let him down._ Luigi thought to himself as they made their way out. _I may not understand what's a happened to my brother, but what we a need right now is some more firepower. And maybe if he gets a little time to rest, he may a get back into fighting shape._

At least he hoped so. Luigi had always counted on his brother's strength to pull them through when things got rough and while he wouldn't turn his back if he needed to step up and fight Bowser, he definitely hoped that he wouldn't have to. King Koopa scared the Bejeesus out of him and he'd never be able to fight him with the nonchalant air Mario normally had.

Coming out of the castle into the moat from an entrance Mario didn't even know was there, he was glad to see a warp pipe nearby.

"Where does this a lead Luigi?" Mario asked him.

"This will a take us to the underground caverns." Luigi answered him, "We won't a have to worry about a the Mid-Lands through there." he added.

Thankful for that, but still confused, Mario entered the pipe, coming out near a lava bed where they boarded a bone raft that had obviously been left near the pipe for that very reason and proceeded to move away at a decent clip. Looking around, Mario was surprised that there weren't any of Bowser's minions hanging about. Every time he'd traveled through the caverns he'd almost had to swim his way through the Koopa Troop.

"Where a are we going, exactly?" Mario asked his brother. If he was remembering correctly, there were a large number of Blarg's and several clans of Chuck living in this general part of the caverns. While he trusted his brother to handle his own in a fight, he wasn't too sure they'd be able to manage if they happened upon an entire Chuck Clan down here.

"And where are all a the Koopa's? It's a never this quiet down here. Something must be up." he commented to his brother.

Luigi chuckled a little before answering. "All that's up is that they a don't have someone a charging through like some kind of madman, so they are a taking it easy." he informed his brother. "You can't a seem to go anywhere without making a lot of noise, so they always know when you're a coming." he added.

Mario gave his brother a searching look. Was Luigi making fun of him? What did he mean he couldn't go anywhere without a lot of noise? Did Luigi think his brother was some kind of attention loving warrior? Mario couldn't help but battle his way through swaths of Koopa. It seemed that no matter which route he took, they were always waiting on him. It's not like he went looking for a fight, he'd even tried to take out of the way routes in the past, but it always seemed that he'd run into as much trouble, if not more, for his efforts. Bowser kidnapped the Princess and since it didn't matter which way he went, he just went straight through the middle; it was much shorter that way. Mario tried to explain that to his brother who only chuckled again in response.

"I know you're not a doing it on purpose, but you a can't help but bring every koopa for miles around down on you if you a trash their bases on your way through. You've a never tried to avoid them." he told him, still smirking at Mario's response.

Now Mario knew where his brother was coming from. They'd had this argument many times in the past and Luigi stubbornly refused to see Mario's point. Whenever Bowser started one of his campaigns to capture the Mushroom Kingdom, he usually seized or built several satellite bases in the Mid-Lands to tighten his control there before he came for Peach. This way he could ensure that Mario had a hard time getting through to him (They were actually there to stop him, but even King Koopa had little hope for their success). When he did this, he generally kidnapped various leaders or innocents from the Mid-Lands and used them as bait to lure him to the Strongholds. Not every stronghold had a victim, but there was no way to tell, so Mario thrashed them all just to be safe. Also, when King Koopa set up these satellite bases, he would often leave either his children (Who could be as bad as or worse than Koopa themselves) or one of his generals to guard the main stronghold in each area, so that someone was there to keep the Koopa Troop organized.

What Luigi seemed to have a hard time grasping was the fact that if Mario left these bases alone on his way through (Which generally by Bowser's design would be far from practical) he would still have to deal with them later, not only that but the longer they remained the more organized the Koopa Troop would be in that region. While this meant that the closer he came to Bowser's keep the better organized the Koopas were, it was a small sacrifice to ensure that things didn't get worse after he came through. The citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom looked to Mario as their savior and if he were to pass through an area and make no effort to help the people therein, their hope would dwindle. Koopa's people were good at manipulating the hopeless, so really he had no choice.

Luigi didn't see it that way. He had tried to convince Mario that the people were not as "fragile" as he made them out to be and that he could come back to take care of those that Mushroom Kingdom's guards weren't able to manage after freeing the Princess. In his mind, Mario was trying to do too much and not allowing the people to stand on their own two feet... which didn't help them in the long run. What would happen if (Which even though he didn't like to consider it, he knew it was so…for now at least) Mario was unable to fight for them. How would they, who never had to defend themselves in the past, do so? It wasn't as if they were helpless, they just weren't as organized as Bowser's troops and that had to do with the fact that not only didn't they have to be, but they weren't a warlike people. So really, Mario was doing them more harm than good by constantly fighting all their battles for them.

It seemed though that no matter how many times they discussed this, Mario always boiled it down to the same point. If he didn't help them when he had the opportunity and something was to happen, it would be his fault for not trying. And even though he didn't really believe this to be completely true, Luigi couldn't come up with a valid argument that didn't seem to have Mario intentionally leaving people in peril and that's where the argument would end.  
Deciding that he didn't want to go through the whole argument now Mario instead turned his attention towards their surroundings making it clear that he wasn't about to discuss that point, which considering their current situation suited Luigi just fine. And so they continued through the Caverns coming out in the Mushroom Jungle.

Whenever there was a need to fight, Mario would approach the battle as he usually did (Though he wasn't as quick as he used to be) and Luigi would end up doing the actual fighting. It didn't seem like the koopa troop had caught on to Mario's condition as of yet. They still reacted as if he was about to trounce them and in general their foes focused on Luigi, hoping to take the "weaker" brother out. This made the few battles they had to fight easier than they otherwise would have been.

With every battle he had to sit out on, Mario felt more and more useless... This wasn't right. He shouldn't be avoiding battles. Anytime an enemy would attempt to engage him, Luigi was quick to take care of it, just as he'd always done in the past for his younger brother…Just as he wanted to do now…

Exiting the Mushroom Jungle in the lower Mid-Lands, the Brothers continued traveling back to the Mushroom Kingdom. There were several days of hard travel all of which only served to show Mario how much he has truly lost. Luigi was forced to assist him on numerous occasions, just to clear obstacles that were no more than a hop to his younger brother and while Mario's arm began to feel a bit better, he was still in no condition to do any fighting. So Luigi continued to handle the combat (What little there was. The Mario Brothers had such a reputation that unless they were headed towards Bowser's Keep, most of King Koopa's underlings left them be or found alternate routes for where ever they were going) and Mario continued to "stay out of harm's way". Just hearing his younger brother ask him to do so on various occasions hurt Mario more than he could bear.

After entering the Mushroom Kingdom, there was almost no fighting to worry about, though they still avoided the Main Roadways... Mario didn't want to have to explain what he was doing there without the Princess any more than was absolutely necessary and this meant sneaking through the Mushroom Kingdom all the way to the castle. Luigi was able to stay visible most of the time, as he often was seen "Defending the Home Front" whilst Mario saved the Princess and not everyone knew about his reconnaissance trip to rescue Mario. Arriving at the Castle, Mario prepared for what he felt would be the worst moment of his life...

* * *

Entering Kamek's Office, Jack and Sledge were reminded how little their ranks mattered to him. It had been many, many years since either of them had first picked up their True Weapons, but Kamek had a way of making even veteran soldiers like themselves feel like new recruits. The fact that they came bearing bad news didn't help any.

"Ahem," Sledge started, after having stood in the entrance for several moments without receiving any acknowledgment.

Kamek, Grand Vizir and Leader of the Koopa Troop after King Koopa. While not as powerful a Magi-Koopa as Kammy (A fact that he would rather die than admit to) he is well known for his vile moods and his penchant for throwing spells first and asking questions later. Having spent the larger portion of his life as Bowser's Caretaker (Alongside, but certainly not along with Kammy) he knows how to get what he wants from the King of the Koopa's. Not one to cross, Kamek was prone to silence anyone who displeased him without giving them an opportunity to salvage the situation, earning him a reputation as bad as, if not worse to some than, King Koopa himself.

Looking up, slowly, as if only just now noticing the Hammer Brothers, while wearing an expression that clearly stated he was loathe to have been disturbed from his work, Kamek raised an eyebrow at Sledge's noise, causing him to continue "coughing", while his brother answered the questioning gaze.

"Kamek, sir. We've come to inform you of..."

"I am well aware of your incompetence in allowing Mario to escape, as even now he journeys through the Lava Dome." Kamek interrupted.

Sledge, seeing a possibility to regain face started, "Well, if he's that close we can dispatch a..." he stopped as Kamek had begun shaking his head.

"You will do no such thing. You know as well as I that the Koopa troop is no match for Mario without leadership, and even then, Mario has trounced them time and time again (He failed to mention, they noted, that Mario had trounced "him" as well.) and this time would be no different." Kamek stated his eyes unfocused in thought, "Though there _is_ something amiss… I've no idea what, but something has changed and so I want you two to catch Mario yourselves. If you fail, don't bother coming back." he finished, waving his hand, "Now leave me, I've a lot of work to do here and I have no time for dealing with your pitiable problems."

The two brothers nodded and quietly backed out, grateful to have been let out without so much as single spell cast in their direction.

"Well, that could have gone worse," Jack said. "He didn't even seem all that upset considering."

"Yeah," Sledge replied, "You're right... and that worries me."

"Well, you heard what he said and besides, weren't you saying we could use a vacation?" Jack added chuckling nervously, not at all certain that this was the best turn of events.

Back in the Office Kamek looked over the reports his informants had brought him. He wasn't all that surprised that Mario had escaped. What did surprise him was that it'd taken so long. Normally Mario was out of their cells in less than a day. This time he'd been in there for nearly a month before he finally escaped and if his sources were correct, it seemed like it had actually been Luigi who'd freed Mario…an oddity in and of itself. That coward normally relied on Mario, not the other way around. This didn't make sense. Not only that, but all his reports seemed to mention Luigi in the forefront. Something was definitely amiss and it was likely tied to Bowser's sudden victory... He knew the King had gone out to talk to Kammy, saving him the embarrassment, so now all he had to do was wait until he returned with whatever she told him. Something was most definitely up.


	11. Chapter 10 It's a me Mario

**Chapter 10 – It's a Me, Mario...**

Standing in front of the Outer Walls to Peach's Castle, Mario had never felt as out of place anywhere in the Mushroom Kingdom. These same walls that he'd passed through time and time again now seemed foreign to him. Who was he? Mario would be headed through these gates any moment now with Princess Peach, and he'd have to get out of the way... At least that's how he felt, for never had he stood where he now stood, unable to gain entrance, and arguing with the guard about his identity.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you!" the younger Toad at the wall shouted down.

The Toad are a truly interesting race(With a rather Deceptive Name). While distantly related to Goombas (Though you'll never find a Toad willing to back that up) they look nothing alike. Standing about twice as tall as the average Goomba, they have a far more "Humanoid" form, complete with Arms, Leas, Fingers, and Toes, none of which the Goomba can Brag. Another difference, their Mushroom Feature is more Cap like, and less the overall shape of their head. As the Predominate Race in the Mushroom Kingdom, they also happen to be the people of Princess Peach Toadstool, even though she isn't of the Toad herself.

He'd told them already that he was Mario, but even with Luigi arguing his case they wouldn't believe him. And who could blame them. Why would Mario be standing outside the Castle walls asking for an audience with the Guard Captain? Everyone knew Mario was probably on his way back from King Koopa's Keep, the Princess in tow, Bowser once again picking himself off the floor. Everyone knew that their Hero would NEVER return without the Princess... so who was he trying to fool?

"We've a already told you!" Luigi hollered back, "It's a me, Luigi, and my Brother Mario!" he told them for the third time.

"Listen Bub!" the guard yelled back down, "We know he's not Mario! I mean his costume's good and all, well... except for the hat, Mario's always got his hat, but yeah while you may be Luigi, unless you've been fooled, you wouldn't be arguing for his sake! So we're not about to let some wacko in, give up, and when the Real Mario shows up with the Princess, you can talk to him about why you need to come in!" he finished, pounding his Spear into the walk like some informal gavel finalizing his point.

"What will I a have to do to make a you believe me?" Mario yelled up to them, unsure whether or not he'd be able to convince them like he'd convinced his brother... while running his tattered glove through his hair idly missing his cap now that they'd brought it up.

The two guards looked at each other, and discussed in hushed voices for a few moments what he "could" possibly do to convince them. After a bit they looked back down at him, and the older toad hollered back.

"I'm sorry, but there's no way we're going to believe that if "Mario" wanted through this gate, that we would have any hope of stopping him," he stated shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, "I mean, it's not like he's not been in enough times to know this place like the back of his hand," the toad added, gesturing inside the keep wall, "And besides, if you really were Mario, you'd just jump on up here and walk right through." Looking down at Mario as if he just thought of it, and waving his hands to demonstrate he continued, "Speaking of that, why Don't you hop on up here... That would convince us. Come on then." the older guard finished smiling smugly.

"Hmph," Luigi snorted, knowing as he did about Mario's current condition, "I've a mind to show these cheeky guards, a piece a my ahhh... mind." he muttered so that only his brother could hear him. But they'd discussed it before they approached the wall, and Mario didn't want Luigi to do anything to jeopardize his reputation while Mario was feeling off. It was bad enough that Mario was out of it. It could only get worse if Luigi was ostracized as well.

Taking a deep breath, Mario nodded curtly and walked a little ways away from the wall to the chuckles of the guard and the sigh of his brother noticing as he did that there was now a small crowd beginning to gather. Turning back, he dashed towards the wall before Luigi could stop him.

"Mario, No!" Luigi shouted.

They were right. If he really wanted in, what could they do to stop him? It was after all just a wall. He'd faced off against gigantic monstrosities devised by Bowser to thwart his attempts at rescuing the Princess; Climbed towering citadels with moving platforms, and enemies throwing themselves in his path; and even the King of the Koopas was afraid to confront him in combat... Or at least he was... but he'd been beaten now, and here he was asking for help because he knew he couldn't win this time, that he wasn't able to...

*FWUMP*

His jump carried him face first into the wall...

"Mario!" Luigi shouted, his voice echoing as if across a padded hall, while running over to make sure his brother was okay as the guard started rolling in laughter atop the gate, their mirth cascading across his consciousness as everything slowed to a snail's pace...

He just lay there looking up at the rapidly darkening sky... _Who am I_...

* * *

Standing in the shambles of her kitchen, the soup long forgotten, with Bowser going over in detail how he'd beaten Mario for the fourth time, Kammy couldn't help but wonder what was "Really" going on here. She was also bothered by the fact that every time he told the story, Mario found himself in progressively worse shape...

"And as I threw him into the air, while bathing him in flame... " the Koopa King was saying.

"Stop," she said, "Two things I want to know, and don't exaggerate, it just makes you look silly." she informed him, ignoring the huffy look he gave her. "One, where is Mario now? And two, why are you wearing his Cap?" she asked. In none of the stories did he explain the hat, and by the look he was giving her, it was obvious why. He didn't even know he was wearing it..

"I'm not.." he began, running his clawed hand across the top of his head where, much to his surprise, he encountered the hat. Pulling it off, he looked at it rather confused by it's presence. When had that gotten there?

"Let me see that," Kammy preempted as she took the cap from his grasp before placing it atop her head.

"Hey!" Bowser, caught off guard by his sudden anxiety over losing the hat that moments before he hadn't even known he'd been wearing, shouted halfheartedly as he conflictedly reached towards it, and instead grasped at open air.

Watching, now confused, Bowser snorted in amusement at Kammy as she attempted what looked like it was meant to be a Back Flip, but instead threw herself onto her back rapping her head rather soundly against the floor.

"Hehehehe..." the Koopa King chuckled while Kammy slowly sat up, rubbing her head where she hit it. Noticing while doing this that the hat was gone, she looked around and saw that it had landed beneath her counter. Frowning she picked it up, and looking at Bowser said in an irritated voice, "Yeah, well why don't you show me how it's done then!"

"Out Side!" she yelled, after he started shifting his weight as if he were about to jump. He'd already damaged her house enough with that first jump, and the subsequent landing. She didn't need him tearing it up anymore. And besides, if her hunch was correct she wanted plenty of room for him to actually start figuring this out. This was by far the most interesting turn of events yet. Not only had he beaten Mario without the aid of any outside force (That she knew of) but he also seemed to have gained some of Mario's signature Prowess. Something had to have happened during that fight, and she was determined to figure it out.

Standing impatiently near to the hut, Bowser gave her a questioning look as she came out the door. "Okay then, show me." she said.

Leaping far higher than a Koopa of his size should be able to, Bowser neatly turned a Somersault in the air and landed with a thundering *Fwump* in her garden amidst the Pumpkins. _Figures..._she thought to herself. Though now she was perturbed. She'd been sure Mario's hat was somehow the Crux of this and now she hadn't a clue what was going on... How did Bowser suddenly start bounding around like that Shroom cursed plumber and what had happened to Mario as a Result? She didn't like not knowing so much, and she also didn't like the implications. Somehow King Koopa unwittingly received some of Mario's strength. With this, it was no shocker that he had the upper hand, but why had it happened, and who was behind it. She refused to believe that it "Just Happened", and Bowser's lack of concern was starting to aggravate her. He never was one to Question things... having come from Royalty as he did, he was accustomed to having things given to him... but she'd raised him with more sense than this. His jumping around and ruining her yard was angering her too...

"All Right All Ready!" she shouted at him as he came down for the second time into her garden, destroying the rest of her Pumpkins. "I get it, you can bounce now. That's wonderful dear, but you've proven your point, so you can stop destroying my yard." she fussed at him.

A slightly mischievous grin that never boded well crossed his face as he calmly walked over to her. "So then what does this mean?" he asked, trying noticeably to keep his face serious.

Watching him suspiciously, she thought about it. If it wasn't the hat, then what was it... "Wait here." she told him as she turned to walk into her house. No sooner had she turned around than she felt Bowser's clawed hands grab her around the waist as he rocketed once more into the air.

"Put me Down you Dolt!" she shrieked at him as she threw a rather large blast of raw magical energy backwards at him, knocking her from his grasp at the top of his jump and sending her flying over her house. Summoning her broom from the porch and her wand from the mantle as she fell, she caught herself a few yards from the ground, and turned in rage at "King Koopa". _Ohhh... so he's gotten "playful" all of a sudden now that he can jump. Well then, I'll set him straight real quick here_ she thought to herself, noticing as she did that he'd taken the hat from her when he jumped into the air.

Bowser had landed (On his feet by some miracle) on the small road leading up to her house, triumphantly donning Mario's hat as he landed. Not giving him the time to regain himself, she opened the earth beneath him and channeled a large column of flame from her wand in his direction. The fire unlike the Fire from a Fire Flower wasn't harmful to him, but it would sting enough to make her point.. or it would have if it had hit him that is. Somehow, at the moment the earth began to open beneath him, Bowser managed to throw himself backwards to where he was still on solid land, and while she shifted her aim to account for this, he leapt into the air before her flames could connect, and launched a large Fire Blast himself, which she then needed to avoid. _That cocky little!_ She thought to herself, but then had to continue dodging as he was now pelting her with short bursts of his Natural Flame from the ground.

Dodging his blasts she was beginning to lose her temper, and the sky around her little hut began to darken with her mood. _Thinks he some big shot now that he's trounced the little plumber does he?_ The rumble of thunder echoed her angry thoughts. _Figures he can take me, ME!_ That last thought punctuated by the *Crack* of lightning in the clouds above them. _ Well then..._ she turned to face him, the wind billowing around her, his flames breaking before they even reached her _I think it's time for "King Koopa" to remember who it was that raised him..._


	12. Chapter 11 Ama

Chapter 11 – Ama

Waking, Mario looked around at the familiar contents of his room. _So now, not only am I incapable of saving the Princess... but I'm napping at home while she's a prisoner in Bowser's Castle..._ Sitting up in bed, he had to wait a few moments as his head took a few trips around the Bedroom before he trusted his feet to hold him. Standing, he didn't make it as far as his door before Luigi walked in with some broth.

"Here. Drink this," his brother ordered handing the delicious smelling bowl to him. He didn't need to be told twice, and he downed the broth. His brother was quite the cook, which was nice because Mario couldn't boil water without catching something on fire.

"Are you a feeling a little better?" Luigi asked as Mario handed back the empty bowl his voice full of concern.

Nodding, he inadvertently winced as a sharp pain shot through his skull. Touching the side of his head, he was surprised to find a bandage there. He must have hit that wall a little harder than he thought. "What a happened after I a..." Mario trailed off, not sure how to describe his crazed attempt at the wall.

"I had to a carry you home." Luigi stated plainly.

"No," Mario replied, knowing by the expression on his brother's face that there was more to it than that., "What else happened. I a noticed a crowd before I..." he trailed off again.

"Mario," Luigi began, shaking his head and reaching out to his brother,. "It's a not important what they a did or didn't say." he told him as he grasped Mario's shoulder. "The people are a confused by what's a going on. You're a normally on the way back by now, and the people are a worried that something might have happened to the Princess." he ended.

Looking at his brother, Mario knew there was more that he wasn't being told, but he decided to drop it. Luigi wasn't going to speak if he didn't want to, and Mario didn't feel like dancing around the subject for the next few hours.

"So..." Luigi said, giving his brother a questioning look, "What are we a going to do now?"

The truth was, he had no idea. He'd never been here before and he wasn't quite sure what he should do. He'd already made the trek to Bowser's Keep and fought the Koopa King. There shouldn't have been a "Next Step". The only "Next Step" up until this point was to come home a celebrate for a few days, and he really didn't think that was a good idea at this point. He "could" go back to the Keeps he'd freed on his way to Bowser, and gather what little guard he could from them... but with King Koopa undefeated, they should really stay put and ensure their lands were safe... There were other kingdoms, Sarasaland for one, with their own armies, but it was bad enough he'd embarrassed himself here in the Mushroom Kingdom... he didn't want to sully his name any further than he had to... though if that's what it took...

*Knock, Knock*

Looking towards the door, Mario was confused as to who might be showing up and he wasn't in any shape or mood for company. His brother, alert as always to Mario's thoughts, left the room to answer the knock and Mario stepped nearer the Door to their room so that he could hear what was said.

"Hello, I know Mario's here and I'd like a word with him if I could." an older voice Mario had never heard before was saying to his brother.

"I'm a sorry, but he's not up at the moment. I can tell him you a came by.."

"That will do. Let him know I'll only be in town until tonight, so if he'd like to know what's going on between him and Bowser, I can probably help clear things up..."

"Who are you?" Mario asked aloud stepping out of his room and onto the upstairs balcony looking down as he did at the front door.

Standing right outside the Mario Brothers home was probably the oddest person Mario had ever seen. Wearing a thick coat made up of what looked to be hats of every kind hanging off of it, he stood no taller than Luigi, but somehow carried an air of power that made him seem to tower over Mario's taller brother. Obviously in his later years, the man still stood without hunch or stoop, and seemed positively alive with energy. Smiling up at Mario as Luigi stepped aside while giving the stranger a Mistrusting look, the old man stepped inside and introduced himself as "Amardarak, they call me Ama the Hat-maker." he said with a grandiose bow, spreading his hat coat open exposing even more hats on the inside.

Slowly making his way down the stairs, Mario looked the stranger over. While his coat was covered in hats of all kinds, his head was bare save for wisps of what might have been hair, and could have also been bit of fluff from a frayed sheet. His face had the chiseled look of someone who has spent far too long peering intently at something, and while obviously old, wasn't as wrinkly as it first appeared. His cobalt eyes seemed to crackle with a kind of amused energy, and he wore smile that made no secret of the Secrets it withheld. His coat was something else altogether. There had to be at least 30 hats, headdresses, bandannas, and caps fastened onto it by some unknown means, and their bulk lent meat to his otherwise wiry frame.

"What do you a know about King Koopa and I?" Mario asked him, a little bit of his worry over people's reactions to his new state clearly leaking into his voice.

"What I know," the old man said, walking across the room towards the kitchen with a very confused Luigi following him, "Is that Big Bad and Ugly has something of yours that you want back." he stated opening the fridge and peeking around.

Luigi gave Mario a look that reflected the absurdity of the situation, and cleared his throat before turning back and addressing Ama. "Can we a help you with something ahhh... outside of the fridge." he said completely lost as to how he should react to the Old Man's intrusion.

"Yeah, looks like you don't have any bread in here. You know it keeps better in the cooler right?" he asked pulling a block of cheese, and a few slices of meat out of the fridge and arranging them on the counter before going back for condiments and finally the bread, which he found in the cupboard beside the fridge.

"Ahem, no, I.. I mean yes, but what I meant was..." Luigi stumbled over his words as all this was going on, getting more and more bothered by the minute.

"You want to know why I'm here, and I'm hungry. Been walking all day, and I'm not as young as I used to be." He said with a light chuckle, "So I'ma make a sandwich before we get into all the chattering. If there's one thing I've learned, it's easier to make a sandwich before a long story than in the middle. People get all fussy when you stop talking and tend to your appetite." he finished with a smirk.

The two brothers looked at each other, and shrugged. Luigi just shook his head, and Mario just watched the old man. _How did he know a something was up? Had a Luigi talked to him before, no... he was a just as confused as I was..._ Putting up his hand to let his brother know to just go with it, he continued to think, _He says he's a got a long story. Maybe he knows a what happened back in Bowser's Castle..._ Hoping for the best, he knew at least one thing about this odd old man... He sure knew how to make a sandwich.

* * *

Hovering over her house, Kammy couldn't believe it. They'd been fighting for well over an hour, and she was wearing out, but as far as she could tell, Bowser wasn't even out of breath. This was absolutely ridiculous! There was no way "King Koopa" could match her in rage but here he was, bounding about like that star cursed plumber, and with no signs of slowing down. Calling down lighting to knock him back, she attempted to have her trees grab him as he avoided her attack, and only succeeded in losing several branches from each to his claws.

"Bwahahaha!" Bowser laughed.

He'd never felt so good! First Mario, and now he was matching Kammy blow for blow. Inhaling deeply as he avoided her lightning strike, he landed amidst the thicket across the road from her hut. Tearing through the branches as they attempted to grasp him, he belched out a rather large fire burst. Knowing she was about to swerve to avoid his attack, he dashed towards her hut, and lept where she was swerving to, Shell First. Feeling first her magic, and then her broom break across his back, Bowser reached up and grabbed hold of the now defeated Magi-Koopa Witch, as he crashed once more through her roof.

"You overgrown, thick headed, oaf!" she shrieked at him, beating him over the head with her wand, and doing no more than earning a chuckle as he set her down in the remains of her kitchen.

"This broom is older than you! You, you..." she continued shrieking as she attempted to gather the splinters from the mess of splinters that was once her table.

"Hehehe, sounds like I did you a favor," Bowser remarked laughing at her rage, "It's about time you replaced that thing anyway." he added, remembering all the times he'd been swatted with it as a young koopa.

Giving him a glare that clearly stated her opinion on that, she continued to pick through the mess.

"So what does this all mean?" he asked her, completely disregarding her anger, as completely as she was disregarding his question. _Great, she's in one of her moods... I'll never get any answers from her now..._ "Well... When you figure it out, let me know." he commanded as he went for the door. Turned around as he was, he missed the expression she was giving him.

Walking through the living room, he was confused to find an old man standing by the fireplace warming his hands. "Who are you!" Bowser barked, wondering at who was dumb enough to just walk in on Kammy and the King of the Koopas.

The old man before him was dressed rather odd for a human. He wore a coat that was covered in Hats of every kind, though he was bald and hatless himself. He stood shorter than the taller Mario, and taller than Mario himself (Those being the only humans he really had enough time around to compare against), though he didn't seem to have the same build that he saw in either. In fact, he looked rather scrawny.

Coming out of the room to figure out who he was talking to, Kammy was surprised to see an old human practically bursting with energy, his eyes literally crackling with power to her senses, standing in her living room. "Who's this then?" she asked turning to Bowser, not letting the stranger out of her field of vision.

"I'm known as Amardarek, and I'm humbled to be in the presence of two of this Kingdom's most prominent figures." He answered her question, bowing low and sweeping his odd coat with a flourish in their direction earning a chuckle from the King of Kooopas.

"Her? She's just a witch." Bowser stated, causing Kammy's face to take on an icy glare. "I am King Bowser Koopa though, and I want to know who you are that you think you can walk in on me?"

His face playing a sly smile that belied far more than he was letting on, he answered, "I'm merely a traveling Hat Maker." this time earning a snort from Kammy.

"And I'm the queen of the Mushroom Kingdom." she replied leveling her wand at him, "Answer us stranger, or I'll give you a lesson in manners that you'll not soon forget." she finished, not trusting this human any more than she understood him.

"Well, I can honestly say I've not been taught manners that would befit an encounter like this," he answered her, still wearing that knowing smile, "but I do know that you're in the market for answers to your lord's newfound prowess, and I may be able to assist you there."

Looking at him with sudden interest, Bowser blurted, "What do know about my newfound powers?"

"That my lord, is quite the tale, and if you've got the time, I make a passable bard." he answered chuckling.

Still not trusting this human, but curious as to what he might know, Kammy lowered her wand, as Bowser said, "Whatever, just get on with it." and the two of them settled into the chairs, Bowser taking up the entire couch with his size, as "Ama" began his tale...


End file.
